Does consistent individual variability in pelagic fish larval behaviour affect recruitment in nursery habitats?

The ocean in a box: water density gradients and discontinuities in water masses are important cues guiding fish larvae towards estuarine nursery grounds

“…This would make it impossible to assign the preference of fish larvae for a water treatment since the position of larvae is viewed from above and thus neglecting a putative stratification in the experimental apparatus (Gouraguine et al 2021). Yet, the apparatus used to raise these concerns does not present the same properties as the one used by Baptista et al (2020), neither in size, configuration, nor flow properties (Gouraguine et al 2019). With a new set of analyses, we here demonstrate that our apparatus' characteristics enable us to detect water mass preference by larval fish without significant biases.…”

“…Finally, we would like to acknowledge Dr. Gouraguine and colleagues for their relevant and timely comments on the paper published by Baptista et al (2020). So, we take this opportunity to expand on the experimental design used by Baptista et al (2020) and present new data in support of their findings.…”

“…Recently, Baptista et al (2020) tested the hypotheses that temperate fish larvae could detect and follow environmental cues of putative nursery habitats and that their predisposition to follow environmental cues could be mediated by consistent individual differences. The first hypothesis proposed that density gradients in coastal areas may serve as navigational cues for temperate fish larvae to find estuarine nursery areas (Teodósio et al 2016).…”

“…The first hypothesis proposed that density gradients in coastal areas may serve as navigational cues for temperate fish larvae to find estuarine nursery areas (Teodósio et al 2016). However, Dr. Gouraguine et al (2021) questioned the validity of part of the experimental design adopted by Baptista et al (2020). They argued that differences in densities between water treatments would result in strong turbulence and mixing inside the experimental apparatus.…”

Perspectives on Larval Behaviour in Biophysical Modelling of Larval Dispersal in Marine, Demersal Fishes

“…For example, orientation might change from swimming in a particular direction (e.g., to the west) or using a celestial cue (e.g., sun angle) to swimming toward the source of a particular habitat-specific cue (e.g., reef sounds). Some examples of ontogenetic changes in orientation are [38][39][40]. Initiating such ontogenetic changes in behaviour at the appropriate time is required for realistic modelling results.…”